Obsession
by moonlight64
Summary: After Felicity gets kidnapped by a very special kind of man, Oliver's mission is clear. He would move heaven and hell just to hold her in his arms again. That's the only thought that keeps Felicity going as she's in the hands of an insane; her unconditional trust in the man she loves. - A story about love, trust, fear and pain. -
1. Chapter 1

It was a late Sunday night and Felicity was sitting on the small but comfy couch in her apartment, watching something utterly dumb on TV. She had a night off arrow duty and on these rare occasions she used all time to relax and simply do nothing. And honestly this was way better than anything else she could have done. The only thing she disliked about it was the lack of Oliver she had in that time, but that was a prize she was willing to pay for some peace and comfort.

As the show on TV turned into something even worse than it was before, she picked up her tablet and checked her emails, work and private ones, but there wasn't much of a difference anyway. Sighting she realized that even the rest of the world seemed to have taken the night off since nothing but a few reports for her meeting tomorrow was to be found in her inbox.

A knock on the door made her look up from her tablet. Another, much more intense one made her get up and hurry to the door, tablet still in hand. Suddenly she stumbled over an oversized sweater lying on the ground. Groaning she picked it up and put it on, since she didn't quite want to open the door in tank and leggings. The moment she reached the door it knocked once more and she inwardly rolled her eyes as she pulled the door open.

"Hey there sweet Felicity…" The man in front of her said smiling and she barely felt the needle in her arm when suddenly everything went black.

When Oliver got home that night, he went straight to his room. He didn't want to let someone else pay for the bad mood he was in. Once he was seated on his bed, he started his laptop and looked for some random stuff he could send to Felicity. He regretted having given her the night off, though, somehow he didn't.

Of course she deserved a break and he was happy to know her safe at home. But on the other hand he had felt really gloomy after coming back from his patrol without her there to brighten his mood. He actually found that he enjoyed her company the most and that's why he usually keeps her around, whether it was at work or at other occasions. He tried to tell himself that it had just very _platonic _reasons, but inwardly he knew that he couldn't keep up kidding himself, and her, forever.

However, right then he missed her (optimism, his rational mind added) and hoped that she would give any kind of reply to his email, but after waiting for half an hour, he gave up the waiting, knowing that she wouldn't answer anymore if she hadn't already.

The next morning when he came to the office, everything seemed like a normal Monday. People greeted, he smiled back (even if it was a little bit fake) and made his way through the different floors, following his routine. As he stepped out of the elevator on his story, his eyes instantly fell on Felicity's empty desk. Her bag wasn't there, her tablet wasn't there, her computers weren't on (which was a big deal when you think about it), but what was worst, she wasn't there!

He quickly checked if he'd gotten any message, if she'd called in sick or just if there was any reasonable explanation why she wasn't in front of him right now, babbling.

But there was less than nothing, so he called her. Called her twice. Then he went to his desk, got up again, unable to work. Called again. Nothing. Called Diggle, but even he had no clue.

Sighing he ran a hand through his hair and paced up and down his office.

"What is it Oliver? " Asked Isabel as she entered his office without knocking.

"Have you seen Felicity? " He asked, sounding more hopeful than he actually was.

Isabel sighed. "Of course, what else would get you worried except for your blonde assistant…? " At the word blonde she raised voice and rolled her eyes. " What about the meeting today? Shouldn't you worry about that in the first place? "

" Why should I worry when I have a business partner who can deal with that stuff while I look for my blonde assistant? " He answered sweetly, walked past her and left her standing open mouthed in his office.

_to be continued..._

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**Next Chapter: **

**- we're going to find out who kidnapped Felicity (probably the most interesting part)**

**- we'll have an overly worried Oliver**

**- some angst and danger on Felicity's side **

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**So, this is gonna be a longer story! : D **

**I hope you like it yet and decide to give it a try and follow along! Thank you for reading anyway! : 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity opened her eyes and fear ran through her mixed with confusion. Why was she staring at a white ceiling that wasn't her own? Then she remembered; night off, TV, knock on the door, scary man and then… nothing.

She tried to sit up, her head aching. Taking in her surroundings, she realized she was sitting in a king sized bed in what looked like someone's oversized bedroom. Someone rich, maybe even richer than Oliver. _Oliver…_ her heart clenched painfully. Had he noticed that she had been taken? Was he coming for her? She closed her eyes for a second, trying not to think about that she actually didn't know if she would ever see him again.

Usually she would whimper and start crying in situations like these, but she tried her best to keep a calm mind, because yet, there was no one in the room with her, no current threat to be seen. Careful just as quiet she got up from the bed to look around. Only then she realized that neither her hands nor her feed were tied up and she could move freely wherever she wanted. This was never a good sign. In horror movies it always ended badly when the victim wasn't tied. She blamed her visual mind for the various movie scenes coming up and ran her hand through her hair, realizing she was shivering.

She was suddenly grateful that she had put on the sweater before opening the door; it was pretty cold in the room, but it wasn't the cold, she was shaking because of fear. The cold didn't cause anything that wasn't there already.

Finally trying to focus on what was in the room, she opened a few cupboards, a wardrobe and even some boxes, but all were empty. It came to a point where she actually wondered if anyone lived here at all.

There was a small pool in one edge of the room and towels. A few steps away there was a closed door.

She stood in front of it, fighting with herself. She was scared, so much it nearly drove her insane, but she knew crying and curling up in a corner wouldn't help to the face that she was in great danger all the time. So she could just as well stay focused. Stay focused, stay focused… she kept telling herself that as her shivering hand reached out for the doorknob.

She let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding as she saw what was behind the door. Just a bathroom.

Quietly she closed the door again and realized that she'd missed something; there was another door.

Rolling her eyes as herself, she walked over and stood in front of it, staring at it. There was no knob to open the door; there was nothing to open it! She was trapped.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to her. Of course she was locked; what would've been the purpose of kidnapping her in the first place if she just could go home now…

Before she knew what was going on the door swung open and she stumbled back over her own feet, falling to the ground.

The man who had drugged her was standing in front of her smiling.

Focusing was impossible for her right then; fear took over the rational part of her mind.

The man kneeled down in front of her, bluntly invading her personal space.

" Hey there sweety… " He took her hand in his but she pulled back instantly, scooting as far away as the wall behind her would let her.

She could see the restrained anger in his face and toxic mix of fear and shock made her go numb.

" You don't need to be scared anymore, you're safe with me here! " He said, fake smiling.

She didn't understand what he meant though. This just didn't made sense. " Who are you? "

" My name is not a factor that would matter. " He made a second attempt to take her hand and before she could pull away again, he shot her a glare that told her better not to.

Quickly it was clear to her that she should better not piss him off if she wanted to live.

" We're soul mates, you and me. We have a very special relationship. " He pulled her up to her feet, never letting go his nearly painful grip on her hand, and guided her to the nearest chair where he made her sit down. Again kneeling in front of her, he continued. " I love you and I know that you love me! I'm so sorry that I had to kidnap you, but now we can finally live happily ever after! "

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. Actually she didn't really know what she was feeling either, but she was sure it was not a good feeling.

" Are you speechless? " He breathed with a real smile now on his face.

Felicity stared at him, open mouthed, not sure what to say.

Slowly he reached up to stroke over her cheek, but this was too much for her and she slapped his hand with confidence she didn't have. " Don't you dare touching me… " She hissed.

In a genuine reaction he lifted his hand and slapped her across the face so quickly and so forceful that she and her chair fell over and she hit her head on the ground. She felt a piercing pain running through her head and she saw the blurred outlines of the man above her as she faded into unconsciousness.

The moment he stepped out of the elevator on the ground level, he nearly sprinted to his car where Diggle was waiting, not caring about the confused looks he got.

He jumped into the car and they made their way through the traffic to Felicity's apartment.

It took them double time it should have, which had gotten Oliver mad, but finally they were there and entered the building.

Once they were on the right floor and in front of the apartment, Oliver knocked twice but no one answered. So they realized that they actually don't have a key and neither Oliver nor Diggle wanted to break into her apartment.

" I'll ask the neighbour for a key. " Oliver sighed. Diggle wanted to tell him that it was no good idea, but he knew that when it came to Felicity, there was no way he could talk Oliver out of something that once had entered his mind.

So Oliver found himself knocking on the neighbour's door.

" Yes…? " An old lady opened the door, just far enough to see through the gap.

" Excuse me, I'm a friend of Felicity and she told me to get her something out of her apartment, but unfortunately I don't have a key… So I wanted to ask you if she gave one to you. " He gave her one of his best fake smiles.

" So you're a friend of Felicity…? " She asks suspiciously.

" Yes, I'm actually one of her best… friends… " He wondered if the woman in front of him even believed him.

" She never mentioned a best friend… " The elderly lady said.

Oliver rolled his eyes inwardly and wished he had just kicked the stupid door open as he could.

" What did you say is your name…? "

" Oliver Queen, ma'am. "

Now the woman smiled and opened her door completely. " Of course! I should've known… I'm so sorry… Wait a second please. "

Oliver sighed in relief, though he didn't quite understand what she had meant.

Quickly she came back with a key and walked over with Oliver to unlock the door.

" By the way every time I talk to her she keeps talking about you, actually it's real babbling and dear, I can tell she l…ikes you. Likes you a lot! "

" Really… " He smiled and the door swung open.

" Well, just close the door when you leave! " She smiled. " Bye! "

" Thank you… " He mumbled and started looking around, feeling slightly bad for invading her private life like this, but if he was serious, he had become a part of her private life long ago.

" Found something? " Diggle stepped into the apartment behind him.

Oliver bent down, picking up an item that had half slipped under a cupboard.

" She's been taken. " He said icy and nearly threw Felicity's broken tablet at him. " We're going to the Operation center. Now. "

" What about your meeting? " Dig asked.

" Screw the damn meeting, we need to find Felicity. That's everything that matters. " He said and hurried to the stairs. The elevator was too slow and he needed to move right now.

No, what he actually needed was to find Felicity and kill the guy who had dared to take her from him. And he would.

_to be continued..._

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**Next Chapter: **

**- some more Oliver feelings and maybe even going deeper ; ) *wink wink***

**- Felicity waking up to the guy ogling her**

**- Some more whys and hows**

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**Happy new year everyone! And thank you for the very positive Feedback I've gotten yet! It means so much to me...**


	3. Chapter 3

" Felicity! "

She jerked awake, sitting up so quickly that her head nearly hit the one of the man bent over her. She gasped and scooted away.

" I'm so glad you're finally up! I was so worried… " He said, smiling, and sat down on the bed next to her.

Felicity honestly didn't know what to do; she was trapped in a corner of the bed and he, whoever he was, was coming constantly closer.

" You… "He breathed. " I know you didn't mean what you said earlier. "

She tried to bring more space between them, but when her back was pressed against a wall, she couldn't do anything but whimper and let the tears she had held back flow.

But he didn't even notice that she was crying and was now kneeling only inches way from her so that she could feel his breath on her skin.

She turned her head away, squeezing her eyes shut.

He put his hands on both sides of her waist, his grip painful. " What's up with you? " His voice was sweet, but underlaid with determination.

" Just leave me alone… " She cried, trying to push his hands off her. The more she tried, the more painful his grip got.

" Sshhh, everything's alright! I know right now everything seems just new and you want back to… _him_… " He had anger lines in his face and he pressed her against the wall even more forceful as he continued. " But this is going to stop! Right now you can't see what I'm doing for you, for us, but once his poison has left your mind, you'll realize that I'm the one you love! "

She let out a pained sob she couldn't suppress anymore. Sighing he let his grip on her go and forcefully pulled her out of the corner instead, onto his lap.

" Let me go! " She tried to fight him, but he was much stronger than her anyway.

" Stop this now, you're out of your mind! " He hissed, holding her in place.

She kept fighting, trying to get out of his arms as fast as possible, which got him even angrier than before. In what seemed less than a second, he got off the bed, one hand around her throat, strangling her, making her pant.

Slowly her vision started fading into white, then black, but she still could see as something in his expression suddenly changed. Instantly he let go of her, letting her fall to the ground.

Felicity continued to cough while she crawled to the opposite wall, away from that psychopath. Tears steadily ran down her face as she did what she had tried so hard not to; crying and curling up, her back against the wall.

Through the blur in her eyes she saw the man walking towards her.

" I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… " He kept whispering. " I never wanted to hurt you, I promise, I'm so sorry… "

Slowly she started to understand; this wasn't just a normal kidnapping case. This guy was completely obsessed with her and probably had strong symptoms for various mental disorders. If she kept on fighting against him she wouldn't get out of this alive. Her only way was acting along. Even if it meant enduring… bad things, she'd do it to see Oliver again. She couldn't die without having seen his beautiful face one last time, so she was willing to sacrifice whatever this would take. Slowly she sat up, blinking the remaining tears away.

" I'm kinda… hungry! Would you mind getting me something to eat? " She said sweetly, fake smiling, hoping that he would buy it.

" Sure! Of course! " He squeaked, his voice way to high. He seemed more than happy to be able to do something for her.

As soon as Oliver had typed the security code, he stormed down the metal stairs. The sight of the empty chair in front of the computers hit him like punch in the stomach, but he ignored it and went straight to that place instead. Five minutes later as Diggle came down the stairs, the computers were already started, so he walked over only to see that the security videos of Felicity's apartment building were running in timelapse.

" We gotta go through that… " Oliver said from behind him.

" At which time? "

" I have no idea Diggle, if I would, I'd be on it! " He answered more aggressive than he intended to.

Diggle sighed and sat down in front of the computers. " I'll go through it. You do whatever! "

" I want know when you find the right time, immediately! " He said sharp, but then his expression softened. " And thank you. "

" I too care about her, Oliver. Keep that in mind. You're not the only one. "

" I know, it's just… " He started but didn't know how to finish the sentence.

" We'll find her…" Diggle said calming. " But first we need to find out who took her. "

" Exactly that is the problem! This is taking forever! " Oliver said, running his hand through his hair. He didn't know what was wrong with him; he'd always had anger inside him, but this was different, it was slowly burning him from the inside until just a touch of nothing would be left of him. And he didn't even know what made him think such things, he knew nothing, he couldn't think of anything except for Felicity and it made him wanna scream! He was scared of loosing her, he knew that, but just how much it pained his heart wasn't clear to him. The times before he always had been able to rescue her within less than two hours, but this was different. He didn't know who he wanted to kill for her absence.

" Oliver! " Diggle said, obviously not for the first time.

" Yes? " He snapped out of his daze.

" Get yourself a chair and look at the screen. Staring into the nothing isn't good; it makes you drown in your thoughts. "

Sighing Oliver did how he was told and inwardly blamed himself for getting so caught up in his feelings. He needed to stay calm and focused, otherwise he'd be of no use. And he would do everything to save her, so there was really little to ignoring his inside-bonfire.

" Got him! " Diggle said and had Oliver staring at the screen before finishing his two-words-sentence. On the video, the man in front of Felicity's apartment picked her up, closed the door and carried her away, not without grinning into the camera.

When Diggle, who was quite shaken, looked over to see Oliver's reaction, only to find him looking straight forward without any expression on his face.

" Who is he? " He asked, while Diggle opened a few other programs.

" His name is George Adams. 42, worked for a security company in the city until he was fired because of failing the annual psychological check. In the report he was considered as mental disordered. "

" He's insane?! "Oliver exclaimed, fear coming up again.

" Yes, but… "

" Where does he live? "

" It's not standing here, but… "

" I'll find out at his company. " His voice was filled with determination when he grabbed his bow and was out of the door in a blink of an eye.

Felicity was in the hands of an insane; every second counted.

_to be continued..._

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**In the next chapter:**

**- there'll be some arrow action**

**- Felicity discovers something ****- both Oliver and Felicity will NEARLY drown in one or another way**

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**Soo... third chapter! Thank you to all the people who yet gave this s****tory a try! I hope I didn't disappoint you! : )**


	4. Chapter 4

Once he was out of the door, Felicity took a deep breath. Even though she was still in danger she felt like at least some stones have been lifted off her shoulders.

Groaning she got up, her everything hurt, but she had learned that one never has as much time as they think, so she walked over to the door the guy just had disappeared through.

Since there was not even a keyhole, how had he opened the door…?

As she took a closer look, she quickly discovered a keypad which was hidden in the doorframe. She recognized it as a model with a 4 number code.

Excitement, even hope, spread inside her; the door was electric and that meant it could be hacked! Without any equipment that would be difficult, but not impossible. Her chance of escaping had just risen by about 100 per cent and was now standing at one to 10.000.

The only thing that still had her worried was how to get the psycho out of the room long enough. Sighing she closed her eyes. Once he would be back, bad things were going to happen, she knew it. Just like she knew that there was nothing she could do about it.

She opened her eyes again, afraid of her own thoughts and what she saw when she closed her eyes. Finally halfway clear in her thoughts, she moved away from the door. She couldn't get the right code just from guessing and watching him typing it wasn't exactly possible considering him being even taller than Oliver.

And once again Oliver was on her mind; the oh so present feelings coming along with it reminding her how bad she wanted to be back with him.

But no, she was here now and he was wherever. She needed to get out of here and whatever it would take, she'd do it for him. That thought made her feel a little bit better and finally her

thoughts came back to the task at hand.

She really needed a plan, but the fear and pain which were still on display made it difficult for her to think. The thought of how in some comics the characters have a light bulb above her head once they got an idea entered her mind. Suddenly it hit her like a lightning; why hadn't it occurred to her earlier! She just needed to find some stupid wires… Quickly she looked around, finally seeing the object she was looking for; a TV!

Her heart was beating way too fast when she kneeled down behind it, carefully taking out the wires she thought could be of use.

Once she was all done, she went to connect them so that she had two long ones left.

It wasn't the best, but the best she could get right now; it would have to work.

Considering the time he was gone already made her hurry up; she wouldn't get a second chance.

Leaving the wires on the ground, she went to the bathroom, getting two towels. Then she kneeled next to the pool, drenching one in the warm water. Quickly she put the other towel under the wet one to prevent the water dropping onto the carpet. Once she stood in front of the door, she did the opposite, squeezing all the water out of the towel onto the carpet.

After repeating this three times, the carpet at the door was wetter than the pool itself and Felicity did her best not to step into the watery part. The final step she had to do was carefully put the ends of both wires into the wet carpet before getting as far away from it as the wires would let her. She already connected one of the wires to her energy source, the place where the TV had been plugged in, and now just waited impatiently for the guy to come back. At the same time she wished that he never would come back, but that of course wasn't going to happen, so it was better to get it done sooner than later.

She wasn't good enough for an actual fight, so this was much more on her level. It was much more thinking and planning than… Suddenly she heard steps and the moment the door was opened, she quickly connected the other wire, careful not to get in contact with the electricity.

Then everything happened far too quickly; the guy went to the ground, leaving the door open, Felicity jumped up and hurried to the door, avoiding the body on the ground and the electric part of the carpet. Before she knew, she was running through a long, dark corridor. On the end of it, there were two ways she could take, but foresighted thinking wasn't exactly what she was able to do right now. She just went on to the right, adrenaline making her run even faster.

Her heart beating in the speed of light, she wasn't even feeling relief or any other positive feeling, just fear and worry.

The voltage hadn't been that high, so he probably wasn't dead. The question was how long he was gonna be out!

That idea had her horrified in an instant and she continued blindly running through seemingly endless corridors, some to the left some to the right. It was just like a labyrinth and whenever she tried to open a door, it was either locked or the room behind it was empty and all windows were covered with wooden bars.

This was driving her insane; it felt like she was running in circles!

Once she was stepping out of yet another empty room, she continued running. The little hope she's had was now completely evaporated and once again tears ran down her face. She couldn't do anything about it; it was what she had always been doing in situations of desperation.

Tears were blurring her vision, but she kept on running until she bumped into something which made her stumble back and eventually fall.

" You… " The voice made her blood freeze and turn into lava at the same time. He sounded angry, very angry.

As fast as she could she got to stand again and ran into the opposite direction, though she didn't get far. He first grabber her arm to stop her from running, then her hair and dragged her with him without a word.

" Please… " She cried and stopped walking, which made him pick her up with one arm, lying her over his shoulder like some random object.

In what seemed like half the time it took her to get away, they were back in the room, wires, TV and everything else electronic gone, except for the lights, which were turned out.

He closed the door behind them after letting her fall to the floor. But before she could get away from him, he made her stand up again and pulled her face close to his.

" It's his poison that made you run… Now it's your poison making me do this. " He whispered, his face full of disgust and pain.

Before she could think about what he said, she was thrown into the pool, pushed down and held under the water surface.

It hit her so suddenly that she got water in her throat as she gasped, but as she couldn't get to the surface again, she started struggling. It didn't actually make sense; she didn't get any further with it. But she kept fighting anyway, because she wanted to see him again, and even if that wasn't happening, she at least would know that she hadn't died without a fight.

She was just about to make her peace with dying then, when she was pulled to the surface again, out of the pool. Instantly she started coughing, spitting out water.

He didn't give her the time to recover, but instead pulled her into a tight hug.

" I'm so sorry, Felicity… But it was necessary to give you this lesson. It wasn't like I had a choice… "

Nearly dying had her too exhausted to fight any of his hugging and apologizing and as he got her a towel, she just stared holes into the nothing.

Just as he was about to take her wet sweater off, she leaned away. " I wanna keep it on. "

" No you don't. " He answered sternly.

She was scared what he would do if she didn't obey, so she took it off, not wanting his hands on her or that he hurt her again.

" You must be cold! " He quickly said and got up.

Before he could make any attempt to help her up, she stood up herself.

" I'd like to sleep now. " She said quietly and walked over to the bed.

" Of course sweety, it's been quite a day. " He smiled at her as if nothing had happened.

Without wasting another word she lay down on the bed, shivering. Her wet clothes slowly got terribly cold, so she took the blanket and wrapped it around herself, not without looking at the psycho once more, making sure that he was still far enough away.

Then she turned her back to him, not able to close her eyes for one second, but as long as he thought she was sleeping he would hopefully let her cry in peace.

Looking through the security videos had taken quite some time and now it was slowly starting to get dark. But Oliver didn't notice as he broke every speed limit with his motorcycle, on the way to Adam's company. Once he arrived there, he had the lights out in an instant and the next moment he was kneeling above one of the IT guys working there. He bad barely been able to control himself and not shoot an arrow at him, but then again this guy had nothing to do with Felicity's kidnapper, he just happened to have access to the files.

" George Adam; he worked here. " Oliver said. " Give me his address. "

" I-I'm new here, I'm j-just the IT guy here… " The young man stuttered.

" Just tell me what I want to know and this will be over before you know. "He said, determined.

Scared, yet quickly the IT guy got up, typed something on his computer, wrote something onto a piece of paper with his shivering hands and handed it to Oliver.

" Here… Those three are in the files, b-but please, I didn't do anything… "

Oliver rolled his eyes at the kid, who couldn't see it under the hood.

Without wasting another second he left, already on his way to the first address.

During his ride, he called Diggle, telling him to go to one of the other addresses.

After half of the time it would normally have taken he arrived in front of an apartment building. The one he was looking for was in the 13th floor, how ironic…

He took the window instead of the door and once he was in the apartment, the panicking woman who lived there with her seven cats assured him under fear that she'd never heard of the man he was talking about.

Locking his anger deep inside, he went to go to the third address.

" Got something Diggle? " He asked. " Mine was a lady with a cat problem. "

" Nope… On my way to the third address. "

" Meet you there in ten. " He sighed. This third address just had to be the right one, it had to.

One both of them got there, Oliver even before Diggle who actually had been already halfway there. But even the third address was a complete failure; an abandoned shop, which was completely empty except for some mice and bugs.

" This doesn't make sense! " Oliver said furiously. " How the hell is possible that we're unable to find him! "

" I don't know, but eventually it'll turn out to be okay. " Diggle tried to calm him, but inwardly he knew that Felicity was the only person who could get through to his mind in situations like this.

" We should get back to the arrow cave…" Diggle said, walking over to the car. " I'll do what I can on the internet. "

He left, leaving Oliver standing alone with his thoughts.

It had just been one day and yet it felt like an eternity without her. He missed her, he missed her really bad, though he kept telling himself that it was normal to miss and worry about close friends. Yet, there was something more to it… Something that left him breathless, drowning in the sea of his own, strange feelings.

He couldn't just sit around and wait for something to happen. It had been up to him to keep her safe and he had failed. That left him with the thought that she seemed to be saver around him than when she was alone, leaving his once statement in question. He couldn't keep pushing her away forever and now he realized that he might never get the chance to make it up to her. She probably didn't even know how much she means to him.

He shook his head, still standing in the place he had when Diggle had left ten minutes ago.

Suddenly an idea occurred to him, one which was not really the best he'd ever had, but it was at least something. He quickly made his way to Felicity's apartment, but staying outside, looking for possible ways to look into her apartment from the outside without being seen.

When he finally found the only place from which you could look into her living room, he realized that it took some quite specific skills to get to that place. It told him that the man they were looking for not just was insane and had a crazy obsession with the poor Felicity, but also was strong and well trained. This was not good at all.

He was just starting his vehicle as suddenly his phone rang. " Oliver? You wanna come see this… " Diggle's voice was sounding strange and hollow.

" What is it? " Oliver asked impatient, yet surprised, as he made his way through the traffic.

" Just come here as fast as possible. It's about Felicity. "

_to be continued..._

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**In the next chapter:**

**- We'll know what Diggle has found (which is quite scary, I can tell you )**

**- The Psycho taking it one step too far -once again- **

**- Felicity being smarter than everyone else -also once again- ( and does something important! )**

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**So this was pretty long but fun to write! A SPECIAL THANKS to... just everyone for being so awwwwesome : D****( I wonder if anyone ever reads my comments at the end... lol )**


	5. Chapter 5

Once again she had been wrong; once again the guy proved himself to be unpredictable.

About ten minutes after she'd lain down, she felt the mattress go down behind her.

" You sleepin' sweety? " He asked quietly and Felicity decided to stay quiet; maybe he'd leave her alone.

But instead he scooted over so that he was lying next to her, propped up on his elbow.

She wanted nothing more than to just run away; to bring as much space between them as possible, but she knew she had to stay. She had to obey to survive.

He went to stroke over her shoulder, her arm, to play with her hair… It scared her, nearly as bad as the thought of what would happen if she pulled away.

" Oh my poor baby… " He sighed, continuing to stroke over her arm. " If you only would see that he's a bad man… He's just using you; he treats you like a nothing… He's not worth your love. " Gently he removed her hair from her neck and placed a small kiss there, making her tear up, " But I am and I'm going to show you just how much I love you. " Grinning he stroked over her neck, to her spine and followed it down to her mid back, but then suddenly he stopped. " I know you're not sleeping. "

Of course he knew, it wouldn't be hell on earth if he wouldn't.

" C'mon look at me…" He said, but she just buried her face deeper into the tear-drenched pillow. " Look at me. "

Her fear won over her rational mind and she turned around to face him.

" Nah, look at that beautiful face! " He smiled at her. " You really make me crazy. "

In less than a second he was on top of her, pressing her down to the mattress.

All she could do was cry and whimper, as always. She felt weak and angry; why wasn't she able to stop crying and put an end to this?!

" I've waited for this moment for so long… " He whispered in her ear.

" But if we want to have a serious… relationship, then maybe we shouldn't rush things! " She said suddenly, glad that she had worked on her acting skills.

Confused he looked down at her as if he wouldn't understand.

Felicity took it as a chance. " If you really want… us… to be serious, then it shouldn't start here, not like this. " She tried to sit up and was glad that he backed off, at least a little.

But then again, suddenly he started grinning. " You like playin' games, huh? "

She shook her head quickly, eyes wide with fear.

" Well then… " He took her hand in his, " …you won't like this. "

Before she could pull her hand away, not that she would've been brave enough anyway, he had cuffed it to the headboard.

She looked at her hand, shocked, trying to pull it out of the cuff. As it didn't work, she looked at him in horror.

" Where did we stop… Oh right! " Once he was over her again, he left a trail of kisses down her throat, all whilst his hands wandered down her sides, her back, her arms.

" I do not want this! Please! " She cried, struggling.

" You should know what I don't want… " He murmured.

" How can you expect me to love you back if you do this to me?! " She whispered, more to herself than to him.

" Your resistance drives me crazy, you know… " He chuckled deeply and looked up at her.

Suddenly the sound of his phone let him get off her, leaving the room.

She was alone. Finally she was alone again. She let out a shivering breath, and then tried to get off the cuff. It didn't move an inch. Again she tried, pulling as forceful as she could, but with the only result that the cuff cut so deep into her flesh that it drew blood. Letting out a small cry, she stared at her wrist. The dark red liquid made its slow way down her arm, dropping down at one or another point. This wasn't good.

At least the pain let her forget the pain on the inside for a short moment.

She pulled once more, making it bleed even worse, but after a lot of squeezing and pulling she could make it slip off her hand indeed with the help of the blood. These definitely weren't police cuffs.

But since the blood hadn't stopped running, she quickly got off the bed, running to the bathroom, leaving a trail of red dots on the carpet.

She washed the blood off her arm, shivering. Then she took a towel and wrapped it around her arm tightly. This should do it for now.

Oliver was back in the arrow cave faster than ever. Whatever it was that Dig had found, it could be no good. His voice had betrayed him on the phone. To use the words 'bad news' and Felicity in one sentence was a no-go at that time. She was okay, she had to be!

He didn't know what he'd do if she was… So he just crossed the thought out of his mind completely.

After typing the security code, he stormed down the stairs and was greeted with a pale looking Diggle, which was quite a big deal if you thought about his actually dark skin color.

" Is it bad? " Oliver asked emotionlessly.

" Just… Just look at it… " He answered quietly.

Oliver came to stand in front of the screens and Diggle opened a page where a video was playing. In it there was a part of a room, in the middle was a bed with someone lying on it. With Felicity lying on it.

" What the hell…? " Oliver said, confused.

" Her kidnapper must've installed a camera and sent us, well, you the link to the life stream. Yet, she's just been lying there, probably sleeping. " Diggle explained.

" No, she isn't sleeping. "

" How do you know? " Diggle was confused by Oliver's icy statement.

" Because she looks different when she's sleeping. And don't ask me how I know _that_ , because I won't tell you anyway. It looks more like she's crying… " He fell silent for a moment, then continued. " Can you tell where she is? "

" No, it's untraceable, I'm sorry… " Dig looked down at his hands.

Suddenly there was movement on the screen which instantly caught the attention of them both. For the next thirty minutes they stared at the screen, shocked, and watched Felicity first being nearly raped, then cuffed to the bed and finally as she accidentally cut her wrist and ran out of the picture as she was finally free.

When Diggle looked over, Oliver was already pacing around the room, his hands in fists so that his knuckles were completely white. Suddenly he threw over a table, furiously. Then he ran both hands through his hair and sat down. Unable to sit still, he changed into normal clothes, dropping the leather careless on the ground. Then he started his pacing again

" This is all my fault. I had to protect her but I didn't, I failed. I failed _her_, Diggle . "

As he was about to answer, Oliver took his jacket instead and practically ran out of the arrow cave. He didn't want Diggle to see the emotions that were getting the upper hand on him.

Outside it was raining, but he didn't notice. He deserved the cold after all.

The hate he felt for himself was nearly as destroying as the hate he felt for that guy… How could he have dared to lay hands on her.

Oliver promised himself that when he'd find the guy, he'd break him every single finger before killing him.

And he will do what he should've done a long time before.

_to be continued..._

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**Next chapter:**

**- Oliver will find out where Felicity is**

**- Felicity does something important (which gets the psycho to freak out)**

**- There will be _blood _and some angst **

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**Well, I pretty much hate this chapter,but the next one will be better, I promise! This one also took me forever to write, so I'm even more sorry!**

**Anyway, I hope you found at least a little something good in this chapter and are still look forward to the next one...**


	6. Chapter 6

After she had tied the towel around her arm, she looked up and her reflection in the mirror and gasped. She looked awful, her skin was white as a sheet of paper and a bruise was starting to show on her cheek bone. Quickly she looked away; Oliver wouldn't like this… But if he would never get to see her again, then this was the least she had to worry about.

She turned the water as cold as possible and splashed it into her face, hoping that it would give her a clearer mind. It worked just good enough for her to take a deep breath and look up into the mirror again, but she didn't get to see her reflection because suddenly the lights went out.

Surprised she looked around, then went out of the bathroom to see nothing. The lights in the main room were out as well. Trying to remember the structure of the room, she made her way through the darkness, coming to stand in front of the locked door. Just as she tried to push the door open, the lights went on and the door was locked again.

" Dammit!" She hissed and turned around to walk back into the room again, then suddenly stopped, frozen in her movement. What was that little beep she had heard? The psycho had removed all tech stuff in the room and it hadn't been the door, so what was it…?

She looked around the room, searching for something she could've missed before, but there was nothing. Just as she was about to give up, her eyes stopped at one point at the wall. Right under the ceiling there was a little black dot.

Quickly she climbed on a chair, stretching to reach the item. It turned out to be a small camera, which actually shouldn't surprise her. Was this to watch her?!

But that would make no sense; her previous attempt to escape would've been stopped much earlier if it was to control her actions. So it had to be for someone else to see what was going on…

A thought entered her mind which made her heart heavy; what if Oliver saw this?!

She wouldn't want him to see this; to see her suffering.

Quickly she checked if the camera had a microphone and was disappointed to see that this wasn't the case.

So she had to give any kind of signal to Oliver or whoever was watching this, it was the second chance she hadn't dared to wish for.

But how was she supposed to tell something, she didn't even know what!

The smartest thing would be the place where she was held, but she didn't even know that…

She'd have to narrow it down… So this must be a pretty big building with all these corridors… And obviously it was not a basement; she had seen windows after all.

From the structure she guessed the building had, it probably was a skyscraper, a very high house at least. Once it had been a bureau or something, but she didn't know if the other stories were still used. She closed her eyes for a second; she didn't hear a thing. That meant that it either was a pretty new building or they were in a quiet part of the city. Hmm, from what she saw the building wasn't that new, so it had to be in the only area she knew was quiet enough. To most people's surprise that place was in the Glades. ( She had gotten to know that place pretty well during her time working in the arrow cave.)

She couldn't quite fit that into any message. Except for that she had no pen and absolutely no idea how to use a sign language. Damn, she was a genius, according to others at least, she wouldn't think this of herself, anyway, she was upset with herself! She had to hurry before the psycho came back!

She jumped off the chair and paced around the room, running her hand through her hair.

Sighing she looked at the camera again and then into the direction where it pointed to.

There was a white wall which should be still in the picture of the camera. Now she just needed something to write with. Water wouldn't work obviously…

She looked around once more, but then her eyes stayed at the blood soaked towel around her arm.

That would work, wouldn't it…? Even though she desperately didn't want to…

She stepped to the wall, taking the towel off her arm. This was the only way, it had to work…

Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath. She could do this, she could do this…

Do it for him, she told herself, do it for Oliver…

She opened her eyes and got blood on two of her fingers. Then she started writing 'aband. skysc. Glad. Oliver'

Originally she hadn't planned to write his name, but in case someone else saw it, then maybe they'd tell him or whatever… It just made her feel better to add his name. It made her feel like he'd see it.

Once she was finished, she realized that it had taken more of her _paint _than she had expected.

A shiver ran down her spine as she realized that when the guy came back, he would instantly turn the camera off and do whatever to her, but she clung onto the thought that Oliver would come in time before something really bad could happen to her.

In the end he would make everything alright again, she knew that.

Then suddenly she had an idea; the bathroom door couldn't be locked but maybe she could win some time with locking the door with a chair! Eventually it did work out and she was able to lock herself in the bathroom only seconds before the door opened and the guy came back.

She heard him calling her name and shortly after that he started banging on the bathroom door.

" Open the door! Now!" He shouted and started throwing himself against it.

Felicity for her part did her best to hold against it, with teary eyes, praying that Oliver would come soon.

After a short twenty minute walk, Oliver walked back into the arrow cave, completely drenched.

" Something new?" He asked without greeting Diggle.

" Nope… Nothing."

Without changing into dry clothes he sat down next to Diggle and started staring onto the screen until suddenly everything went black.

" What's up?" Oliver was worried.

" The camera went out… Stream's still working." Diggle said surprised.

As the camera went on again, Felicity was standing in the picture, looking around.

" What's the white thing wrapped around her arm?" Wondered Diggle.

" Towel… " Murmured Oliver and concentrated on the screen. She then seemed to have noticed the camera and quickly was directly in front of it.

Oliver tensed as he saw the bruise on her face and he was left wondering if she had any other injuries. Quickly he changed the topic of his thoughts and focused on her again.

She just stood there and Oliver wondered what she was thinking. Then she got off of whatever she was standing on and went to the white wall in the middle of the picture.

" What's she doing?!" Dig asked, but Oliver kept staring at the screen, watching her take her bandage off and write on the wall with her blood. To say it shocked him was an understatement; it was something so unlike her and seeing her doing such a thing, knowing that she had to do such a thing, was torture.

" She's telling us where she is… She's too smart for her own good." Oliver said as she had finished her words and was now out of the picture. " When the psycho comes back she'll be in trouble, we need to get there now! Dig, was there any power cut in the Glades? "

" Yep… Not here, but three blocks from here. And there actually is an abandoned bureau building in that area…"

Oliver was standing already, back in leather and hood. " Gimme the address. "

The door had started making strange noises some time ago, but at this point Felicity could barely hold it together anymore. When it finally swung open with a loud crack, she stumbled back and fell against the sink, hurting her back, but that was her least problem. The psycho grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the room, not giving her the time to stand up.

" What did you think you were doing?!" He screamed at her. " They'll find us!"

Angrily he pulled her up to her feet, painfully grabbing her face, turning it to the wall.

" Why did you write his name?" He hissed, " WHY DID YOU WRITE HIS NAME?!"

She whimpered, not able to answer.

" Answer me or you'll regret it; why did you write the name of this bastard?!"

" Don't you dare calling him that…" She hissed back.

Instead of answering he slapped her hard which made her fall to the ground, then kneeled down next to her, stretching her arm out with the inside up. " My words don't reach you anymore, maybe this does…"

A little dizzy from the slap, she turned her head to see what he was doing, but only saw him through a blur and couldn't tell what he was up to. Then she felt the pain. It burnt like fire and spread everywhere far too quickly. She screaming, trying to deal with the pain, but it just hurt more. Slowly her vision sharpened and she could see the psycho writing something on her arm. Just that it wasn't a pen he was writing with, but a small knife.

Desperately she tried to get free, but he was kneeling on her shoulder; there was no chance for her to get up. So she just kept screaming, hoping that it would take away the pain.

Once he was done he got up again, looking down at her, keeping the knife in his hand.

Felicity kept lying on the ground, crying, turning to look at her arm.

It was smudged with blood and she couldn't tell what he had cut into it.

" I hope this will always remind you of the pain he caused you." He said with an icy glare but then turned around in a sudden movement, glaring first at the door, then at Felicity.

Quickly he made her stand up, holding the knife to her throat as the door was kicked open.

" Stop or I'll kill her…" The psycho said, glaring over at Oliver who stood inside the room now, bow raised and pointing at the other two. He would've shot, but the chance of hurting her was too high.

Except for that he couldn't stop staring at her; she looked so scared, yet he could swear that the moment he had entered the room, her eyes had light up for a second.

" It was all perfect until you came here. Just leave us alone." Psycho shouted, but Oliver ignored him and instead spoke to Felicity. " Hey, look at me…" He did his best to use his gentle voice despite the anger he felt inside.

She instantly obeyed, staring at him with big eyes that told him everything he was afraid to ask.

The guy noticed the interactions and spoke to Felicity, " Don't be afraid, love, soon we'll be at a place where no one can stand in between us." He brought her closer to him and pressed the knife more forceful against her throat, which made her wince.

Oliver didn't know what to do; if he'd do nothing the psycho would kill her. If he'd try to kill the psycho, he could hurt Felicity or worse.

Felicity for her part didn't know either; she knew that the psycho would kill her sooner rather than later and Oliver couldn't do anything but watch it happen.

It was up to her and she didn't like that. She desperately tried to remember what Oliver and Diggle had taught her, but her mind was clouded with panic.

So she just took a deep breath and did the first thing that came to her mind.

Actually Oliver had shown her this with a gun, but to her great luck, and it was really luck, it worked and she had the knife in her hand after a second. This caught all of them by surprise, but Felicity was out of hers quick enough so that when the guy went to grab the knife, she was quicker and without thinking about it she tabbed it into his shoulder. The next moment he got three arrows in the chest. In shock she stared at her hand, then at the groaning guy who was going down to the ground in front of her and finally she turned around to look at Oliver, but before she could see anything she was pulled into a tight hug. Only now she realized that she was shaking, her arm still hurt horribly and was still bleeding. That's why it took her a second to hug him back, but once she did, she started sobbing into his chest.

" Sshh… It's alright, I'm here… I'm here…" He whispered, his arms wrapped around her tightly. " Let's get out of here… "

He felt her nodding, but since she didn't make any attempt to let go of him, he just picked her up and carried her out of the room. Not that he'd mind… It currently was the only way for him to know that she was safe, breathing and _there_.

It didn't take them long to get back to the arrow cave, all the way Felicity cried, not saying a word, but clung onto Oliver who did his best to comfort her which turned out to be more difficult than he would've guessed.

When he walked down the metal stairs, Diggle was already hurrying over to the metal table where Oliver sat Felicity down shortly after.

" We'll take care of your injuries now, okay?" Oliver asked and only got a nod as answer.

First they took care of the cut she had gotten from the cuff, then went on to her other arm.

Once the blood was washed off, Felicity could see what the psycho had written and suddenly his words made much more sense. Actually she could've guessed it.

Once the two others saw what was written on her arm, they looked at her, seeing her tears roll down her cheeks.

She stared at the bold letters of Oliver's name on her arm.

Diggle started wrapping a bandage around her arm while Oliver held her shivering hands.

From time to time she winced in pain, every time she did it hurt Oliver just as much.

" Thanks Dig… We won't come in tomorrow, you can have the day off."

" Okay… Just take care of her…" Diggle answered quietly, then left soon after.

When they were alone again, Oliver stepped to stand directly in front of her. " You don't know how glad I am to have you back…" He said quietly, " I was so worried…"

She still looked down at her hands, tears slowly dropping onto her arms.

" Please, tell me what I can do to make it better… To see you hurt like this… It hurts from the bottom of my heart! Please, Felicity, I'd do everything…"

" Please, just… just hold me again!" She said quietly, desperate sounding, looking up at him for the first time.

Without wasting any second he pulled her off the table, carefully, wrapping her tightly into his arms.

For a long time he just let her cry, gently stroking her back, whispering words of comfort. With her, this side of him was genuine, honest. She was the only one who could bring it out.

Once her sobs died off, she was still hugging him. " I wonder if I'll ever feel safe outside your arms again…"

This touched him beyond words, still he felt like he needed to say something. Just that finding the right words wasn't quite one of his strengths.

" You won't have to…" He said into her hair, hoping that she'd hear it though. " C'mon, let's go home… You'll stay with me tonight."

_to be continued..._

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**Next chapter (yes, there'll be a next chapter):**

**- the two of them dealing with some stuff...**

**- Finally a bit fluff**

**- or a bit more fluff ; D**

* * *

**So, there's one more chapter to come! But first of all I hope you enjoyed this one! It was quite a lot of work... But I'm pretty happy with it!**


	7. Chapter 7

" C'mon, let's go home… You'll stay with me tonight!"

She nodded into his chest, letting out a small noise of appreciation, then pulled away to let him change into normal clothes. As soon as she was out of his arms and his warmth was gone, she fell back into her deep black hole of pain and fear.

He noticed the change in her posture instantly. " Hey, I'm still here! It'll just take a minute."

She nodded, but Oliver decided that it was the best to just keep talking to her about some random thing, just to keep her distracted, his eyes never leaving her.

" So, do you want to eat something once we're home? You know, our housekeeper can make some pretty awesome dishes!"

Felicity looked down, staying quiet and just shrugged.

" First of all you should put on something warm!" He had finished changing and came to stand in front of her, lying his grey sweater around her shoulders.

Without complaining, she put it on and for some reason it made her feel better, not only warmer, but also warmer from the inside.

Since it was already loose fitted on Oliver, the sweater went nearly to her knees, but still he still thought that she looked utterly adorable.

" Can we go?" He asked, watching a rush of different emotions and thoughts on her face.

She didn't want to leave the security of the foundry, the bare thought left her frightened. On the other hand, the Queen mansion was probably one of the only places which was saver than their current hideout.

" Let's go…" She finally said, even loud enough for Oliver to hear, and earned an encouraging smile.

He held out his hand which she gladly took and didn't intend to let go any time soon.

Soon they were out of the building, walking towards the street. Much to Oliver's dislike, every little noise made Felicity jump, tighten her grip on his hand.

Once they were on the street, Oliver called them a taxi since Diggle had left with the car.

" You okay?" He asked as while they were waiting.

" I could use some food…" She said, leaving him surprised that she actually talked to him, but also relieved.

" Once we get home, you'll get whatever you want…" He was talking about the food, but was very aware of the fact that it wasn't quite obvious.

Their taxi got there shortly afterwards and Oliver held the door open for Felicity to get in.

When they were seated, he pulled her close to him, wrapping one arm tightly around her shoulder, holding her securely against his side.

It didn't take them long to get to the Queen mansion and after Oliver had paid the driver, they walked to the front door. All the while he had kept holding her hand, gladly. It was a good way to make sure that she was still there.

He opened the door for her, guiding her inside.

Suddenly Moira emerged in the hall, obviously waiting for her son.

" Oliver, where have you been?" She worried, coming to stand in front of the two of them.

Her gaze wandered from Oliver to Felicity, who instantly snapped out of her shock. " Good evening, Mrs. Queen…" She stuttered.

" Ms. Smoak…" Moira smiled, making Felicity blush. It certainly was one thing to go home with Oliver, but another to face his mother, looking as messed up as she thought she did.

But the older woman didn't seem bothered at all as her eyes fell onto their interlaced hands.

" Well, I'm glad you're home now! It's late, I'm going to bed if you don't mind! Good night you two!" With that she went upstairs, leaving the two of them standing in the hall.

Not commenting it any further, Oliver lead her to the kitchen, greeting the housekeeper who was just about to leave.

" Felicity, this is Raisa!" He said gently, while they both sat down at the kitchen counter.

" Nice to meet you!" She smiled at the woman, who instantly returned the gesture and seemed just too happy to have the two of them in her kitchen.

" I'm sorry to bother you at this time of the day, but would you mind making us some dinner?" Oliver turned to Felicity. " What would you like to have?"

" Maybe a sandwich…?" She asked quietly and looked at Oliver as if she needed his approval.

" A sandwich for Miss Felicity, it'll just take a minute!" Raisa just said and instantly started.

Oliver smiled to thank her, but Felicity didn't even hear her. She was staring into the nothing, inwardly caught up in a flashback. It all was coming back, the things she's had to face. The way she'd felt starting to burn its way into her mind.

Oliver's hand on her cheek pulled her back to reality.

" Hey, everything's alright! I'm here…" He carefully wiped a single tear away.

" I'm sorry…" She breathed, looking at him with big eyes. " I-I don't know what…"

" I know…" He answered, just as Raisa placed a plate in front of them.

" Do you want me to set up the guest room?" She asked carefully.

" Thanks Raisa, we'll be fine!" He assured her.

Once she had wished them a good night and left, Oliver turned his attention completely to Felicity.

She was staring at her sandwich and drink, not moving.

" Staring isn't good…" He started, knowing that he'd done just the same so often already. " Eat something, she makes great sandwiches!"

She did as she was told and in record speed both sandwich and drink, whatever the drink was, she didn't know, were gone.

All the while Oliver had watched her, relieved to see her actually enjoying her meal.

" It was good…" She said, noticing his eyes on her.

After some time of silence he got up, taking her hand again. " It's late, we should get some rest!"

They walked up the stairs and worry already started making its way into Felicity's heart.

She didn't want Oliver to leave her side; she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway since she couldn't even close her eyes without the fear returning.

" What are you thinking?" He asked, opening the door to his room.

She decided that it was the best to talk. Talk about just everything that was or wasn't going on in her mind. She always kept telling him that it was better to talk about things and now he was doing the same. " Under different circumstances, I would've felt differently about you leading me into your room, but right now all I can think about is how scared I am…"

" Don't be scared… You're safe with me!" He turned the lights on and stepped inside.

" Just don't leave me alone…" Her voice was barely a whisper.

Gently he pulled her into another hug, trying to give her all the comfort she needed right now. " I promise…"

After some time of just enjoying each other's presence, Oliver pulled away. " You should take a shower; it's… comforting. Should I ask Thea for some clothes?"

" I actually really like your sweater…" She nearly pouted, which made him smile. " And she's probably sleeping already, I wouldn't want to wake her up…"

" But once you take a shower I'm sure you'll want some clean clothes…" He went to grab a shirt and boxers out of his wardrobe, then turned around to see her standing there, small and fragile, looking down at her hands.

He didn't want to leave her out of sight actually and when he handed her the clothes, he could see that she didn't want to be alone either.

" Uhm, where's… the bathroom?" She asked and he pointed to a door on the other end of the room.

Quietly she walked over, but turned around once more before opening the door. " This might be incredible inappropriate, but would you mind coming with me?"

Without wasting another word he followed her, closing the door behind him.

" I'll just sit right here and close my eyes." He said quietly and did as he had promised to.

A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she put off her clothes.

She would've considered this as strange, but after the last two days her definition of strange had changed drastically.

Before she stepped into the shower, she had a glimpse at herself in the mirror and gasped; bruises covered her collarbones and her waist, but the worst were on her hips and her shoulder blades.

" Everything alright?" Oliver asked to her gasp.

" Yes, yes… I'm fine!" She turned the water on and took a sharp breath. Both heat and water made the cuts on her arms burn again.

But as much as it hurt, it washed away a little bit of the feeling she's had since the psycho had laid hands on her.

It didn't take her long to get out of the shower again and wrap a towel around herself.

" You fell asleep?" She asked carefully, yet teasing.

He made a little snoring noise but then smiled. " Can I open my eyes?"

" Just a second…" She quickly got dressed and then tapped him on the shoulder. " All clear."

He looked up at her, taking in the sight, inwardly blaming himself for it.

Quietly they went back to the main room and once again Felicity stood in the middle of the room, not sure what to do with herself. She really liked Oliver's room, but was unsure whether she should sit down on the couch, a chair, the bed… Just standing there, staring, doing nothing gave the fear which had been haunting her the chance to return.

" Something wrong?" He asked, worried.

" No… Just… just thinking."

He knew better than to push her. " Well, don't you want to sit down first?", making her sit on the bed as she didn't respond, then sitting down next to her, facing her.

He felt the urge to stroke a strand of hair out of her face and for the first time he gave in to it. He just needed the constant reassurance that she was still there and she seemed to appreciate the gesture.

But what was once started couldn't be stopped easily, so he continued to stroke over her cheek, down to her shoulder, but suddenly his hand froze in its place and Felicity feared that he'd pull away.

But instead he pushed her hair away to get a better look at her shoulder.

Once she realized that he was about to find out about the major bruises on her back, she flashed him a nervous glare. " I-It's nothing…"

When his eyes met hers she could see the pain he didn't even try to hide. " It's not nothing! Please let me take a look at it."

Embarrassed she turned around, letting him pull her shirt up just high enough to get an impression of what her whole back looked like.

" I'm so sorry…" His voice was a whisper, she could feel his breath hot on her back.

" This is not your fault… You don't need to be sorry for anything!" She said over her shoulder and her heart skipped a beat when she felt his lips on her back, pressing a soft kiss onto her spine.

Then he let her shirt down again, making her turn around and face him.

" I would give _everything_ in terms of keeping you safe; I want you to know that…"

She nodded, blinking away the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

" Well, you should get some rest!" He said after some time of comfortable silence.

" No, I'm fine!" She assured him.

" Felicity, I can see the exhaustion everywhere in your face, you need rest!"

She looked at her hands, ashamed. " I'll try." But she knew that she'd only end up panicking, crying, not able to close her eyes. " Couch then?"

" How can you think I'd ever let you sleep on this uncomfortable couch of mine… You just sleep in the bed."

So she moved up the bed, crawling under the covers and was surrounded by his scent which made her heart flutter.

" You'll stay here, right?" She asked quietly. " Please don't leave…"

" Never…" His voice was gentle and soothing. " I'll be right here, I promise!"

And even though she knew that everything would only get worse, she trusted Oliver enough to at least try. She buried her face in the pillow and closed her eyes. Only then she realized how tired she was, but still, after a few seconds she opened her eyes again just to make sure that he was still there.

Then she closed them once more, just to open them shortly after again. After doing this for about five minutes, she couldn't stand it anymore. " Oliver?"

Even though her voice was really quiet, he had heard it and was off the windowsill in an instant, already by her side. " What's up?"

" Can you sit with me?"

" I'd love to!" Without another word he sat down on the bed, his back against the headboard.

She sighed in contentment and closed her eyes once more, feeling his warmth, listening to his breath.

" Thank you…" She breathed as she realized that the images which had been haunting her were fading. Soon she was asleep.

He knew it as soon as her breath evened and her eyes didn't open anymore. It was a relieve to see her muscles relaxed, not even close to as tense as she was before.

He watched her for what felt like hours, taking in every inch of her beauty.

It was dark, but the light which filled the room through the window was enough.

Inwardly he wondered if he'd ever get to watch her sleep again…

Suddenly she started whining, tears flowing.

" Felicity!" He tried to wake her up.

She just kept moving around, mumbling.

" Please wake up!"

She startled awake, looked at Oliver in panic.

" It's alright, you're safe! I'm here…" He tried to calm her.

Felicity sat up, next to him, pressing her back against the headboard.

Worried he put an arm around her, hugging her to him. To say that she was glad about it would've been a understatement. Relief washed over her as she rested her head on his shoulder, slowly getting her breath under control.

" It was just a dream… You're home!" He said quietly, giving her the time to calm down.

She looked at Oliver in the darkness and wished she could put into words what her heart was screaming. But since she couldn't, she just stayed quiet, snuggling into his side.

" You wanna go back to sleep?" He asked after some time, feeling her tense up at his side.

" I can't…" she whispered, a hint of anger in her voice, " I'm too scared to close my eyes."

" Then tell me about it…" He knew he didn't want to force her to talk, but his feelings got the upper hand on him and he just needed to try everything to make her feel better and for that he needed to know what had happened to her.

But she hesitated. She wanted to tell him, but for that she'd have to open the door she'd tried so hard to lock all the evil behind.

" You know, most nights I wake up after a nightmare and wonder how long I will be able to do this. To relive all the pain and the fear I've ever faced..." Even though it was still not easy for him to open up, he hoped that it would help her. " You know what helps me then?"

She shook her head, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

" You…" He smiled lightly, seeing the confusion in her face. " Every time I start doubting myself or what we are doing, I'd think about your smile, you voice… The sparkle I see in your eyes very time we do something good." He was surprised of himself for this, " Every time I feel bad, I think about you and it's better. When I wake up at night, horrified after a bad dream, I wish you were there to comfort me."

" I wish I was, too…" She whispered, feeling incredibly sorry for him. After taking another deep breath, she decided that he deserved to know what had happened to her. Who knew if she'd ever wake up after a nightmare with Oliver by her side to comfort her…?

" I dreamed that… things hadn't ended like they did. " She admitted. " All the things that almost happened actually did happen… in the dream."

His understanding, yet searching look made her go on.

" You know, after being punched, strangled, nearly drowned, nearly raped, cuffed to a bed and getting your name cut into my arm, I guess it's difficult to believe that I made it out alive."

" I'm so sorry that all his happened to you…" He said, pulling her even tighter against his side.

" Let's not go there again, Oliver. "

" I won't…" He sighed. " It's just… I'd do everything for you, to make you feel better, but I don't know what!"

" I can't ask you to do anything more… You already let me stay here, that's more than I ever would ask for!" Sure she liked it here, more than she should, but she'd already felt bad for asking him to stay with her, she couldn't possibly expect anything more.

" You can ask for anything and everything."

" I'm so exhausted, but I'm too scared of sleep to close my eyes. I just want to feel safe again, to stop the nightmares from coming back. So please, let me sleep in your arms. You're my safe place."

Without another word he shifted them so that they were lying.

Careful not to hurt her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. " Like this?"

" Hmmhmm…"

" This is the least you should ask for…" He muttered under his breath, but she heard it anyway.

" Why would I ask for more, this is all I want."

_to be continued..._

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**Next chapter:**

**- they take a day off :)**

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**Sooo... This was supposed to be the last chapter, but I don't feel like it's the end yet!**

**Please, guys, tell me that you want another chapter as well! Pllleeeaaaassseee!**

**Love you all!**


	8. Chapter 8

It was already late morning and yet, Oliver hadn't shown up downstairs. It was a Tuesday; why wasn't he in the office? Thea didn't get it, usually her brother never slept in (or slept at all), neither did he sneak out without a good reason. Soon her impatience got the better of her and she went straight to his room, opened the door and walked inside without knocking. She just guessed that either he wouldn't be there or doing whatever. Instead, the sight she had made her freeze in her move and she couldn't suppress the grin. Oliver was still sleeping indeed and he wasn't alone; his cute blonde friend was cuddled into his side and he had his arms around her. Thea couldn't help but wonder how they could feel comfortable with the obvious lack of space between them. Anyway, she thought they looked happy. And cute. It made her happy to see her brother happy. And she was giddy to talk to blondie some time soon. Somehow she had the feeling that these two wouldn't go to the office today. Still grinning, she turned on her heels and walked back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Felicity woke up to an unusual feeling of comfort and warmth. She opened her eyes, blinking the blur away and smiled; her head was resting on Oliver's shoulder and she was clasping his shirt. She doubted that she had ever woken up better. For that matter, she also doubted that she had ever slept better; no nightmares, no waking up, no fear. Her heart filled with sadness and panic at the realization that this wasn't going to happen again! Once slept in his arms, she already was addicted to it. Letting out a sigh, she locked the negativity out of her mind and just enjoyed the comfort. A minute later she was back asleep.

When Oliver woke up, the first thing he noticed was the mess of blonde hair around him. The second thing was the fact that he had slept for longer than four hours, which in fact was a miracle.

He looked down at her and felt incredible grateful. For having her back, for having her _here _and because she could take his pain away.

Some minutes later Felicity woke up, for the second time.

" Hey…" Oliver smiled.

She turned her head to look at him, " Hey yourself…"

" How are you feeling?" He couldn't help but worry about her.

" As good as I probably can right now… My arm hurts, but it's not that bad…"

The bare thought of the cuts in her arm made him feel bad and he felt a rush of protectiveness run through him. He couldn't let her go home today.

" Do you wanna have breakfast?" He asked.

" Sure..." She sat up and was about to, slightly awkward, get out of the bed when he caught her hand and pulled her back.

" Are you sure that you're okay?"

" Yes, Oliver, I'm fine."

" Promise me?"

" I promise…" She smiled at him, touched by the way he worried about her.

" Well, then let's have breakfast."

Ten minutes later they were standing in the kitchen, still clad in PJs.

" Where are your mom and Thea?" Felicity asked, surprised to find the kitchen completely empty.

" Well, it's after eleven, I guess they've business to attend to. And usually I'd be in the office with you."

" Sorry… For causing so much trouble."

" You don't need to apologize for anything. There's nothing that would be more important to me right now." He left it at that and went to make breakfast, not wanting to bother Raisa with it. Cooking wasn't one of his strengths, but even Oliver Queen should be able to make some blueberry pancakes for his girl. Felicity for her part sat down at the counter, watching him. 24 hours ago she wouldn't have thought that she'd ever get to watch a scene like this; Oliver making her breakfast was something she would love to have every morning.

Once he was finished and actually had managed to not burn all the pancakes, they sat at the counter, enjoying their meal.

" Best pancakes I've had in… forever actually." She smiled to herself.

" Only dish I can make, it has to be good!"

" Oliver, you can do more than one dish."

" Yes, Felicity, I can do more than one dish. I can make you something different for dinner, but my blueberry pancakes are still the best."

Her smile faded and she looked down at her now empty plate, " Oliver, I don't want to bother you any longer and cause more trouble…" While her inside screamed the opposite. She desperately wanted to stay with him, she couldn't bear to be alone again.

" Felicity, you don't _bother_ me in any way and neither you cause trouble. You need to rest… And I need to know that you're safe. You'll stay with me."

" Okay…" Her answer came out more like a whisper.

And so, after breakfast, they went over to the living room and started the longest TV marathon Oliver had ever experienced, half time awake, half time asleep. They sat on the couch, resting against each other, enjoying the comfort and the warmth inside out.

Sometimes Felicity made random comments about whatever came to her mind and Oliver just was oh so glad that her babbly personality was coming through again.

Around afternoon, Diggle called to make sure everything was alright and wasn't surprised at all to find Oliver only whispering with Felicity leaning against him, asleep.

By the time Oliver wanted to get up to make dinner, Felicity made him order Chinese food instead. With her puppy eyes she could make him do just about everything; she just didn't know that.

After a ton of food, some popcorn and two more hours of a strange TV show Felicity insisted to watch (even if she had fallen asleep after half an hour, but Oliver hadn't dared to turn it off) finally the both were asleep.

When Thea came home that night, she had wondered if the blonde would still there all day, she found them just like this, fast asleep on the couch. Smiling to herself she walked over, tapping her brother on the shoulder only to regret it the same moment. He'd told her to never get too close to him while he was sleeping. She'd made that mistake once and ended up being pressed to the ground, coughing. But to her great surprise she only got a deep growl as response. Something… _Someone _must've found a way behind his walls, must've gotten deep enough to give him the comfort he needed. And honestly, Thea was glad that it was Felicity. She seemed smart enough to not get cut while putting his broken pieces back together.

Before leaving the room, Thea took a picture of the two of them on the couch. She'd show it to Oliver when he'd get all gloomy the next time.

The next morning both Oliver and Felicity woke up to the sound of Oliver's phone. The little movement which the surprise caused was already enough to make both of them fall off the couch.

To her luck, Felicity landed on top of Oliver not the other way round.

" Yes…" Oliver answered the phone. " Uhhuum… Yes… Okay. Thanks." It was rather a short call.

" What was that about?" Felicity asked as he had hung up.

" Just a very nice person from QC who was generous enough to tell me that Isabel is looking for me…" He sighed. " Right now."

Slightly embarrassed, Felicity realized that she was still lying on top of him and jumped up quickly.

Only now she realized that the bandages around her arms were so loose that they were about to fall off, so she did the last bit and took them off completely. Now without all the blood, you could clearly see each letter.

Of course it instantly caught Oliver's eye and he took her hand, bringing her arms closer to have a better view. " Does it still hurt?"

She shook her head, but as she saw his face she added, " I'm feeling pretty well again, thanks to you! I don't care about these stupid cuts."

" You know that you'll always have my name on your arm, sooner or later it'll turn into a scar."

" Oliver, you even could tattoo your name onto my arm and I wouldn't mind…"

" I just hate that you're brandmarked."

" I am not brandmarked. And even if, it's okay! It's not your fault! And I wouldn't rather be brandmarked with anyone else's name." She blushed. " I mean… I…" The doorbell interrupted her, making her sigh in relief, which again made Oliver smile. " Saved by the doorbell."

He placed a kiss on her arm, " Wait here, okay?" Then went to the door.

She could still feel the warmth of his lips on her arm as he already was out of the room. It let a shiver run down her spine… She wanted him to come back. He'd be back soon.

So she just did as she was told, standing around awkwardly, waiting. When suddenly quick steps came towards the living room, she could tell it weren't Oliver's, she did the only things that came to her mind; finger brushing her hair and pulling her, well, Oliver's shirt down. The next second a very pissed looking Isabel stormed into the room, shouting whatever over her shoulder at Oliver who was obviously trying to stop her. Felicity could tell that he was trying very hard not to throw her out immediately.

" You do realize that it is your job to…" Isabel stopped frozen in her move once she reached the middle of the living room , staring at Felicity . " Miss Smoak…"

" Miss Rochev…" Felicity whispered and wished nothing more than to disappear.

" I haven't seen you in the office for a while, I hope everything is alright…?" The touch of sarcasm and anger in her voice was obvious. Added to the 'I wanna rip your head off and pull your heart out of your chest' glare, it made Felicity feel extremely uncomfortable.

As if it wasn't bad enough already, Isabel came closer, eyes caught on Felicity's arm. " What is that on your arm?" Her tone was definitely inappropriate, but whatever…

" N-nothing…" She was a terrible liar.

The moment Isabel's, now more shocked, view turned to Oliver, they knew that she had seen it, but had a terribly wrong interpretation in mind.

Without another word, Isabel turned around and dragged Oliver out of the room with her.

" Oliver, whatever it is you're doing here with your _assistant_, we have business to attend to!" She didn't give him any chance to answer. " If you don't want the Investors to find out how blondie slept her way up to her position, then you better come to the office. Now."

" You have absolutely no idea with whom you're messing right now. Get out of my house. Now." He hissed and Isabel pretty much stormed out of the mansion.

Oliver went back to Felicity instantly.

" Is… Everything alright?" She asked carefully.

" Yes, everything's alright!" He smiled. " Isabel is… just Isabel, nothing new!" His wink told her that he really meant it.

" The whole company is convinced that we're dating anyway, now Isabel can tell everyone that the rumors are true… I mean… not that we're dating! We aren't, obviously, but to her it must look like that… I mean…"

" Felicity…" He smiled at her ramble, " Don't you think we're already a few steps past dating?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, perplex, before starting to talk, " Are you saying that a psychopath abducting me made you realize that you have feelings for me?"

" Uhhmm, that's about what I was saying, yes." This was one of the rare moments where he was nervous.

After some more time of staring, she suddenly started to laugh loudly. " If I had known that this was all it would take, I'd have had Diggle abduct me a year ago!"

" This is not funny… I was scared that I'd loose you."

Instead of saying something, she just hugged him tightly and smiling he hugged her back.

After all, actions speak louder than words.

_the end_

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**I'm so sorry that this took so long, oh my, I've had no time at all! **

**I hope you forgive me! **

**So, this was really the last chapter! Woohoo!**

**I hope you enjoyed this story and follow me for more ;)**


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